Strong enough to break
by mirdaishan
Summary: Contains spoilers for S13 E16 'Last Woman Standing! Morgan returns to CSI a day after the events at the playground, not having forgotten about everything yet. Who other than Greg could be there for her to find out if she really is as fine as she says she is?


She knew how much he cared about her, how much she meant to him. She knew how scared he had been yesterday after hearing that shot at the playground. She knew how protective he was when it came to her, how worried and concerned… She knew all of that and yet it still surprised her to suddenly see him standing next to her locker. He probably hadn't appeared as sudden as she thought, she probably just hadn't noticed him there as she was still too lost in her own thoughts.

"Hey," he said. "I, eh, just wanted to know if you were okay… I came to find you after shift yesterday, but they told me you had left with your Dad already."

"Yeah, we went out to celebrate that he's now Sheriff Ecklie," she told him.

"Really?" He smiled at her. "That's great!"

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" She smiled as well, but it was just a quick smile. Being back at work brought back the memories of yesterday's events again, memories she had managed to forget about during dinner.

"Look, Morgan, I know you'll keep saying you're fine, but if you ever want to talk: you know where to find me," he said, looking at her with those sweet, innocent dark eyes that made her melt on the inside. How was it possible he didn't have a girlfriend? Or a wife, for that matter? A guy as sweet as he was, should have ended up with someone years ago already!

She would never tell the rest of the team, but she loved working with Greg more than with anyone else. Knowing she could process a crime scene or some evidence together with him always made her smile. It made her show up at work just five minutes earlier and leave five minutes later. Whenever Russell told her she could meet Greg somewhere, she had to try very hard not to let him know how much she loved it, afraid he'd start joking about it. She would never forget that time where he had said that she could bring _boyfriend Greg_ to look for some evidence they had missed. At that time his words had confused her, but now she was just happy he didn't use them again as she knew she'd start blushing.

Most people already seemed to think they were together anyway. Donna, the genealogist, had mentioned how cute she thought they looked together the last time they had seen her and she knew about the rumors going around about her and Greg showing up at a scene together after coming from home. They hadn't meant for those rumors to start, they had just thought practically: her house was on Greg's way to CSI, so he would pick her up and drive with her to the crime scene instead of having her take her own car. She knew it looked suspicious, but actually she didn't even care anymore. She liked Greg a lot, maybe even loved him, and she could definitely see how happy he'd make her if they would ever cross the friendship / couple line.

Her only problem was her own strength. She didn't want people to think she was less than others because she was a woman, because she was blond or because she was the sheriff's daughter now. She wanted people to think she was strong, so she would always hold on, not thinking about giving up. She would hold on for so long it would eventually break her. And that moment had arrived now that she was looking into Greg's incredibly sweet eyes that were filled with concern.

"I never meant to shoot her…" she started, her voice shaking already and her eyes filling up with tears. "I knew she was bluffing, I knew it! And then, when she reached for that gun… I just… I just shot her! I didn't even realize it until after I had done it… I killed her, Greg, I killed her!"

"Hey…" He pulled her into his arms and held her tight as she broke down in tears. "She has killed four other people, nearly five, remember? Remember seeing Ava's head after we had just talked to her hours earlier? She was responsible for that! She would have killed you, Morgan, you know she would have! You had to shoot her! If you hadn't, you wouldn't have been alive anymore!"

"That doesn't make me any better than her…" she whispered, more into his shirt than into the air. From the corner of her eyes she could see Greg shake his head. "Don't you ever say that again! You are way better than her and you know it! You're smart, beautiful, strong, independent, determined, caring… You're just amazing!"

She smiled through her tears. "That's really sweet of you to say…"

"It's the truth," he told her with his most sincere look. Carefully, he wiped a few of her tears away. "Don't ever forget that!"

He handed her a box of tissues that he took from his own locker.

"You're well prepared," she said, still sniffing slightly, while taking the box from him.

"I figured I might need them… I think I know you a little by now!"

She smiled at him, one that was closer to a real smile than the one before. "Yeah, I guess you do."

"I also asked Russell if it was possible for us to stay here tonight and get some paperwork done," he confessed. "Hope you don't mind…"

"No, that's great!" she nodded, handing him back the box of tissues after having used nearly half of it to dry her eyes. She had never thought a person could have so many tears, most of which had seemed to have ended up on Greg's shirt. She carefully touched the wet spot on his shoulder. "Sorry about your shirt…"

"That's fine," he reassured her. He held out his hand to her. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, I am." She took his hand, knowing she'd always be ready to go with him, no matter where. As she felt the warmth of his hand and his fingers touch hers, she realized how meant-to-be this was. When she looked up, she met his eyes again, which were now filled with love instead of concern. Suddenly she realized something else. Something had changed between them. With one breakdown, with one hug they had finally crossed that line of being friends and being more than that. Neither of them had said anything out loud, but they both knew it. She smiled at him, letting him know she had realized it as well. With a smile just as big as hers on his face he put his arm around her and pulled her close. Only for a second of course, because after all they were at work. But in spite of that they had finally crossed that line and that was all because of what had happened yesterday. She knew she would never forget that day anymore.


End file.
